Using ChatGPT to Create a “Personal Wall”: A Method for Generating Ideas, Just Like Bouncing Ideas Off a Wall

Even when you have something you want to think about, if you just keep mulling it over in your head, you can end up going around in circles.

That feeling is completely natural. When it comes to brainstorming, progress depends less on talent and more on whether you have someone to bounce ideas off of.

That’s where using ChatGPT as your “personal wall” comes in handy. Even at a stage where it’s not quite time to consult someone else, throwing your thoughts against this “wall” can help you gradually give shape to ideas that haven’t yet been put into words.

This guide introduces easy-to-follow steps for using ChatGPT for brainstorming, organizing your thoughts, coming up with blog topics, and drafting project plans.

What Is ChatGPT as a “Personal Wall”?

Using ChatGPT as a “personal wall” means throwing your unfinished thoughts at it as they are and refining them based on its responses.

The OpenAI Academy on OpenAI’s official website explains that ChatGPT functions as a thinking partner to help organize your thoughts, quickly generate options, categorize ideas by theme, and turn your direction into an actionable plan. The resource is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

The benefit is that it reveals perspectives you couldn’t see just by thinking about it on your own. Even if you think an idea is ordinary, if you ask ChatGPT to “look at it from a different angle,” it will respond by breaking it down into perspectives such as the reader’s viewpoint, a beginner’s perspective, or a counterargument.

The downside is that the answers you receive aren’t necessarily correct as they are. While ChatGPT can serve as a brainstorming partner, it is not a substitute for your own experience, judgment, or sense of reality.

One important point to note is not to expect a finished product right from the start. The key to this back-and-forth process isn’t a polished answer, but rather having the idea bounced back and forth multiple times.

In practice, the more rough the initial prompt, the more likely it is that your true thoughts will emerge during the conversation. For example, even if you simply say, “I feel like my blog topics are weak,” this can be broken down into questions like “Who is the target audience?”, “What are they struggling with?”, and “What is the conclusion?”

Here’s a specific step-by-step guide:

“I’d like to bounce some unformed ideas off you. Please acknowledge them without judgment, then break them down into key points, the readers’ concerns, and potential angles for an article.”

Brainstorming is easier to use when you separate “broadening” from “narrowing”

When using ChatGPT for brainstorming, the process involves first broadening your ideas and then narrowing them down.

The OpenAI Academy on OpenAI’s official website introduces a brainstorming process that involves first generating many options, then categorizing and comparing them, and finally turning them into a plan. The resource is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

The advantage is that it prevents you from getting stuck trying to choose the “right” answer from the very beginning. By first generating 10 or 20 ideas and then keeping only the ones you can use later, the psychological burden is reduced.

The downside is that the “broadening” stage can result in too much information. Simply looking at a large number of ideas can be exhausting.

One important point to note is that you should not combine the “idea generation” and “selection” processes. Doing so simultaneously can stifle valuable ideas at an early stage.

As an observation, when brainstorming topics for blog posts, it’s easier to find good material later if you ask for “30 potential headlines” rather than prioritizing quality from the start.

Here’s the specific sequence to follow:

“Please come up with 20 angles for a blog post on this topic. You don’t need to evaluate them yet.”

Next, continue with:

“Please categorize these 20 ideas into: beginner-friendly, personal experience-based, SEO-optimized, and Google Discover-friendly.”

Finally, narrow it down like this:

“From these, please select three ideas that are easy to write right now and address clear reader pain points.”

Assigning a Role to the “Wall” Makes Responses More Practical

If you’re using ChatGPT as your personal “wall,” it’s more practical to assign it a role rather than just asking questions.

The ChatGPT FAQ in OpenAI’s official help center describes ChatGPT as an AI assistant that can be used for everyday tasks such as brainstorming, writing, learning, planning, coding, and analyzing images and files. This information comes from the official corporate help center and was last updated on June 13, 2026.

The advantage is that the direction of the responses becomes more consistent. Simply asking, “Look at this as an editor,” “Respond as a beginner reader,” or “Identify weaknesses as an SEO specialist” changes the way ChatGPT responds.

The downside is that if you assign too many roles, the answers become stiff. If you specify roles such as “editor,” “marketer,” “expert,” “beginner,” and “critic” all at once, the response becomes too long and is actually harder to use.

A key point to note is to limit yourself to one role per round of feedback. It’s easier to manage if you assign the “idea generator” role when brainstorming, the “editor” role when organizing, and the “reader” role when polishing.

Based on my personal experience, asking ChatGPT to “gently point out the parts where readers might lose interest” tends to yield answers that are easier to use for revisions than simply asking it to “be critical.”

Here’s a concrete example of how to use it:

“You are a blog editor. To turn this topic into an article that conveys the readers’ concerns, please point out just three weak points.”

Also, when you want to expand your ideas, ask it this way:

“You are my brainstorming partner. Please don’t dismiss any ideas yet; just help me explore all possible angles.”

Prioritize “Readers’ Concerns” When Brainstorming Blog Post Topics

If you’re using ChatGPT as a brainstorming tool to create blog posts, the key is to prioritize readers’ concerns over the topic itself.

The OpenAI Academy materials on writing, available on the official OpenAI website, explain that when writing, it’s important to clearly define the purpose, the audience, and the action you want readers to take after reading. This is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

The benefit is that your article is less likely to end up being just a self-centered monologue. By prioritizing the reader’s concerns, it becomes easier to naturally structure the introduction, headings, and conclusion.

The downside is that there may be a disconnect between what you want to write and what the reader wants to know. In that case, you’ll need to reorganize your ideas slightly and rearrange them in an order that’s most helpful to the reader.

One thing to keep in mind is not to focus too much on SEO alone. While it’s important to include search terms, articles that lack a strong connection to the reader’s concerns and experiences are less likely to leave a lasting impression.

Based on my observations, articles written with Google Discover in mind tend to be more likely to get readers to start reading if they include an opening line like “I struggled with this too,” rather than just offering how-to tips. However, there is no official guarantee that individual articles will be featured on Discover. As of now, there are no officially confirmed materials available.

As a practical step, before selecting a topic, ask ChatGPT the following question:

“What anxieties, frustrations, or failures do readers struggling with this topic experience? Please break it down into search-optimized and Discover-optimized categories.”

Next, continue with this:

“Based on those concerns, please write the article’s conclusion in one sentence. Keep it practical and avoid sensationalism.”

Example Prompts for Creating Your Own “Wall”

Having a template for ChatGPT’s “wall” exercise makes it easier to get started each time.

The brainstorming guide on OpenAI’s official website explains that providing constraints tends to make ideas more realistic, and that it’s helpful to share details such as the target audience, timeframe, available resources, how success will be measured, and past attempts. This is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

The benefit is that it reduces the friction involved in getting started. Instead of having to explain everything from scratch every time, you can begin brainstorming simply by tweaking the same template slightly.

The downside is that relying too much on a template can lead to similar ideas. It’s better to introduce variety occasionally by asking, “Look at it from the opposite perspective” or “Point out what feels off as a beginner.”

One point to note is not to include too much personal information or sensitive information that hasn’t been made public yet. The OpenAI official help documentation on “Memory” explains that memory can be managed through settings—you can turn it off, delete it, or use “Temporary Chat.” This is an official corporate help document, and its last update was confirmed in June 2026.

Based on my observations, prompts that work well for brainstorming are those that aren’t too long. Rather than writing a perfect set of instructions from the start, it’s more sustainable to start with a short prompt and then refine it later.

As a practical tip, it’s helpful to save the following template:

“I’m about to brainstorm some ideas. I’m not looking for a finished product yet. After considering my thoughts, please respond by breaking it down into: 1. Useful elements, 2. Missing perspectives, 3. Readers’ concerns, and 4. Questions to consider next.”

For blog posts, you can use the following template:

“I want to write a blog post on this topic. With SEO in mind, and to make it appealing enough for readers to start reading on Google Discover, please suggest the readers’ pain points, the article’s conclusion, headline ideas, and the direction for the introduction.”

For project planning, you can use the following template:

“I’d like to brainstorm this project. Please organize your feedback into the following categories: feasibility, appeal, value for readers or users, weaknesses, and the first step. ”

After Brainstorming, Rewrite in “Your Own Words”

It’s important to rewrite the ideas generated by ChatGPT in your own words at the end.

The OpenAI official website’s writing guide recommends treating ChatGPT’s output as a draft to be reviewed. This is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

The benefit is that you can infuse your own personality back into the text. While ChatGPT’s polished writing is convenient, using it as-is can sometimes make the text sound a bit too generic.

The downside is that it requires some editing. However, this effort is a crucial step for infusing your own personality and experiences into the text.

One important point to note is that you should not leave any parts requiring fact-checking as is. In particular, information regarding pricing, features, policies, healthcare, law, finance, and breaking news must be verified using official sources or materials from public institutions.

As an observation, simply adding one of your own experiences or turns of phrase to a headline generated by ChatGPT can significantly change the impression of the article. For example, “How to Generate Ideas with ChatGPT” is less concrete and memorable than “Build Your Own Wall with ChatGPT: How to Generate Ideas Like Bouncing Them Off a Wall.”.

As a specific step, I’ll end by asking the following:

“Please revise this text into a natural blog post that goes beyond general principles and leaves room for my own experiences. Avoid making overly definitive statements, and write in a tone that speaks directly to the reader.”

After that, I’ll add at least one sentence based on my own experience.

“In my case, rather than just thinking things through in my head, I found that once I threw the idea at ChatGPT, it became easier to see exactly what I was struggling with.”

Summary

Creating your own “wall” with ChatGPT means throwing out unfinished thoughts and using the responses you receive to nurture your ideas.

The key points are: separating the processes of expanding and narrowing down your ideas; assigning a role to ChatGPT; prioritizing the reader’s concerns; and finally, rephrasing the content in your own words.

According to OpenAI’s official documentation, while ChatGPT is useful for brainstorming, organizing thoughts, and drafting text, it is not intended to replace the user’s own context, expertise, or judgment. This is an official corporate document published on April 10, 2026.

If you want to take action right now, start by feeding ChatGPT the following sentence:

“I’d like to bounce this idea off you. Please accept it without criticism and respond by breaking it down into useful angles, missing perspectives, and questions to consider next.”

It can be a bit frustrating when your thoughts aren’t coming together, but surprisingly, it’s more practical to bounce an idea off someone else than to keep it to yourself—and given how ChatGPT is used in 2026, this is a very realistic method for organizing your ideas.

Primary source checked

• developers.openai.com